Independent Franchise Partners LLP Sells 462,883 Shares of Kenvue Inc. $KVUE

Key Points

• Independent Franchise Partners LLP sold 462,883 Kenvue shares (1.5%) in Q3, leaving 30,802,691 shares valued at about $499.9 million — roughly 3.3% of its portfolio and a 1.61% stake in Kenvue.
• Other large institutions have been active—Norges Bank and Mondrian opened new stakes while VanEck, American Century and Amundi significantly increased holdings—leaving institutional ownership at about 97.6%.
• Kenvue recently beat EPS estimates and pays a quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~4.7%) but has a payout ratio above 100%; analysts’ consensus is a Hold with a $19.58 target price.

Independent Franchise Partners LLP lessened its position in shares of Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE - Free Report) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,802,691 shares of the company's stock after selling 462,883 shares during the quarter. Kenvue makes up approximately 3.3% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 1.61% of Kenvue worth $499,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kenvue during the second quarter worth $537,418,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Kenvue by 101.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,361,581 shares of the company's stock worth $298,008,000 after buying an additional 9,240,434 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Kenvue by 38.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 30,265,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $633,447,000 after buying an additional 8,436,166 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Kenvue by 82.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 14,509,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,446,000 after buying an additional 6,559,261 shares during the period. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in Kenvue during the third quarter valued at $79,269,000. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KVUE. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Kenvue from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kenvue in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Argus upgraded Kenvue to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Kenvue from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Kenvue from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.58.

Kenvue Trading Up 0.7%

KVUE opened at $17.51 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.32. Kenvue Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.02 and a 1-year high of $25.17. The company has a market cap of $33.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. Kenvue had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Kenvue's dividend payout ratio is presently 107.79%.

Kenvue Company Profile

Kenvue is a consumer health company that was established as a standalone, publicly traded business after separating from Johnson & Johnson. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KVUE, Kenvue focuses on the development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of consumer health and personal care products across a range of categories including skin and beauty care, baby care, oral care, wound care and over‑the‑counter medicines.

The company owns and markets a portfolio of widely recognized consumer brands, including names familiar to global shoppers across retail and pharmacy channels.

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